National Treasure: Seven Legends
by Olivia Dunham
Summary: Ben Gates and his friends are far from done with treasure hunting. This time thrown off their own turf, they're sent to seven different times with seven different treasures. Can Ben manage to solve the riddles and save them all?
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: This idea had been rolling around in my head, so I figured I might as well post it to see what you all think. So, enjoy! And please review telling me if you'd like to see this story(s) or not!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything._

**XXX**

**For Benjamin Gates, his life has finally calmed down.**

_Slow motion shot of Ben, Riley, and Abigail sitting on the porch, the perfect picture of relaxation_.

**But little does he know, that the treasure of the world is not done with him.**

_Quick shot of each of their faces. Ben looks concerned, Abigail afraid, and Riley confused. Fades to black._

Abigail: _(voiceover_) Ben, where are we?

Riley: _(voiceover_) I think the better question is when are we.

_Image of a car wreck. Fades to black. Sound of a heart monitor is heard._

**Ben Gates had been sent back in time, in order to discover treasures that have otherwise been lost.**

_With each beat of the heart monitor, a new scene is shown: Titanic, Wild West, Ancient Egypt, Aztec Pyramid, The Queen Anne's Revenge, and Troy._

Ben: We have to hurry! _Quick shot of Ben running down a long corridor, pulling Abigail along, Riley struggling to keep up._

_Shot of Abigail dressed in barely anything, being shackled to the top of a pyramid._

_Shot of Riley being locked up in an iron cell._

**He may be able to save the treasure…**

_Shots of several different treasures, including a cave full of gold, and a large stone room with a golden sarcophagus._

_Ben with a large smile._

_Fades to black_

**(voice over) But can he twist time and save the many people in history that shouldn't have died?**

_Shot of horses stirring up dust as they ride down a long gravel path, an iceberg cutting into the side of a ship, and a man dressed in armor standing on a city wall, watching an army approach._

Abigail: (_dressed in old fashioned clothes_) You can't save everyone Ben. Whatever happened, has to happen.

Riley: She's right Ben.

Ben: (_looking between them_) I can try.

**Not to mention his friends.**

_Fades to black. A woman's scream is heard, as well as Riley's voice shouting for Ben._

_Shot of Ben looking right to left, seemingly trying to make a decision._

_Sound of a heart monitor is heard again. With each beep, a new picture is flashed._

_Shot of wide open ocean._

_Camera span over a large jungle_.

_An army stomping over the ground, heading for the city in the distance._

_Abigail and Riley been dragged away._

_Ben standing at the bow of an old ship._

_An angry pirate holding a gun aimed at someone unseen._

_Ben holding a torch, slowly coming through the darkness of a long corridor_.

Ben: I'm so sorry….(_sounds as if he's about to cry_)

_Sound of heart monitor slowing down. After a moment, it flat lines._

**National Treasure: Seven Legends**

**XXX**

_So? Worth reading? Let me know in a review!_


	2. Prologue

_A/N: Here's the prologue, since you all seem to have enjoyed the trailer! I will do my best!_

**XXX**

The sun was just setting over the tops of the trees, sending pale yellow, bright orange, and soft pink streaks of light across the sky, eventually fading into the dark purple, navy blue, and black of the night sky, where stars were already beginning to come out, like tiny pinholes in the sky.

Abigail's bare feet were silent against the linoleum floor of the kitchen as she poured iced tea into three tall glasses that sat on a tray, adding ice and straws before carefully balancing the tray on one arm, grabbing the bowl of chips on the counter with the other. She carried them down the hall and out the front door, out onto the front porch, where Ben and Riley were talking in soft tones. Ben jumped up as soon as he saw her, and grabbed the tray of drinks before she ended up dumping them everywhere.

"Thanks." She said, setting the bowl of chips on the small table between the porch swing and the chair Riley sat in. The techie instantly grabbed a handful of chips and stuffed them eagerly in his mouth. Abigail rolled her eyes, taking a sip of tea.

"Its not like I don't feed you guys." She muttered as Ben too, grabbed a handful and proceeded to stuff them rather violently into his mouth. Riley chomped and swallowed first, so he was first to reply.

"We know. We just love chips." He shrugged. He really didn't want to insult Abigail's cooking, but that night she had made an entire veggie dinner – part of her diet or something – and Riley had discreetly stuffed the vegetables into his napkin when she wasn't looking, pretending to have eaten it.

She simply shook her head, and settled onto the porch swing with Ben, resting her head against his shoulder with a sigh. He wrapped his arm around her, his fingers brushing up and down her bare arm. A warm breeze blew across the porch as they drank and munched on chips in silence on the warm June night.

"What are we doing for the 4th of July?" Riley suddenly asked.

"That's nearly three weeks away." Abigail pointed out.

"So?"

"We're going to the President's party. I accepted his invitation yesterday." Ben provided Riley with an answer, rocking the swing back and forth with his foot.

"Sounds boring."

"There will be food."

"Is that the only thing you think I care about?" Riley asked indignantly.

"Yes." Ben and Abigail chorused together and he frowned, folding his arms across his chest.

"Fireworks too." Ben mused after a moment.

"What about hot girls?"

"Probably loads."

Abigail smacked Ben on the arm, narrowing her eyes playfully as Riley laughed.

"Don't you even be looking at other women, Benjamin Gates. You're married now in case you've forgotten."

"Of course I haven't forgotten, _Mrs. Gates_." He grinned and kissed her forehead. Riley made a gagging noise.

"Don't tell me you two are going to start _that crap_ again. If so, I'm out of here." He muttered and Ben and Abigail laughed.

"Fine Riley, we'll stop." She said, sitting up straight and bringing her legs up to sit Indian style next to Ben on the swing.

"Until after you leave." Ben added in a low tone. Riley gagged again.

"Mental image I didn't need Ben, thanks." He said, and the two laughed again.

"Sorry Riley if you don't have a love life to brag about."

"I have a love life!"

"Really? When's the last time you went on a date?" Abigail inquired. "With another person who seems interested romantically in you." She added, as Riley moved to respond. But this time, he fell silent for a moment.

"A….a while." He whispered so quietly that Ben and Abigail barely heard him.

"All right then. Point made."

The three fell silent again, simply staring out across the grounds of the vast manor. It felt good to be rich, and basically get anything you wanted. Of course, Ben had put almost all of the money into several different savings accounts, and they carried only what they needed on them.

"Want to go to the park?"

Abigail and Riley looked at Ben curiously.

"Park?"

"Yeah. The one near Jefferson Memorial. You know, the one where you nearly escaped with the Declaration," He gave Abigail a pointed look. "And where both of you plotted with Ian to get me out of FBI custody. And where I proposed to Abigail."

"Why?"

"Just because. We haven't been there in a while. And it's supposed to rain next week." Ben said, leaning up on the swing. Abigail shrugged.

"I'm in. Riley?"

"Sure. Why not? I don't have anything better to do." He muttered and got to his feet, stretching. Abigail got up as well, heading inside for a moment to slip on a pair of flip-flops that matched her white sundress, and grab her keys, tossing them at Ben after locking the door.

They rode in silence to the park, Abigail's head resting against the window as she watched the blurred lights zoom by in the darkness. Riley, who had gotten his laptop out of his car and brought it along, was quietly typing along behind her in the backseat.

"Something wrong Abigail?" Ben asked, glancing over at her. She gave a light shrug.

"I just don't feel right. Like something's going to happen." She murmured. He reached over and took her hand, squeezing it comfortingly.

"Nothings going to happen. Promise." He said, looking at her.

"Ben!" Riley shouted from the backseat, having glanced up. Ben's head snapped forward, barely comprehending that he had ran a red-light. Looking back at Abigail's horror stricken face, he saw the blaring lights of a dump truck heading for them.

**XXX**

_Only the prologue, first chapter will be up soon!_


	3. Aztec Antics I

_A/N: Okay, so we're starting off with the Aztecs! Hope you enjoy it!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own anyone._

**XXX**

Ben jerked and twisted at the same time, his eyes snapping open. He let out a sharp gasp, sitting up bolt right. Breathing heavy, it took him a moment to realize that he was sitting in the middle of a jungle. Frowning, he pushed himself up and turned, confused. Hadn't he just wrecked a car in the middle of a four-way intersection?

Which made him think of Abigail and Riley. Where were they?

Taking several steps forward, he pushed through a small area of ferns, looking for any sign of his wife and best friend, but they were nowhere to be found. He did another turn in the small clearing he had emerged out into, still curious as to how he had found his way into a jungle. Maybe the car had been thrown off the road, and had rolled down some kind of embankment, and he was lost in some sort of wood?

Ben doubted it. This didn't look like any forest or wood. It was too tropical, and the vibrant colors of the plants across the clearing didn't look like anything familiar.

An ear-shattering scream pierced the silence of the jungle, and Ben whirled, recognizing it as Abigail's shout. It made his blood run cold. He ran in the direction of her scream, barreling through the undergrowth and ducking low hanging branches, leaping over the large rocks in his way. Abigail was in trouble, and God only knew where Riley was.

Ben skidded to a halt in another clearing to catch his breath, resting his hands on his knees, doubled over. He was determined to find them, and then figure out where they were. In that order.

A rustling in the bushes to his left caught his attention, and he glanced up just in time to see Abigail run from them, nearly barreling into Ben because she had glanced back.

"Abigail!"

"Ben! Run!" She shouted and pushed him in the opposite direction. Or at least, attempted to. She suddenly fell forward, collapsing onto the jungle floor. He moved to catch her, but a dark skinned man stepping from the bushes Abigail had just come from stopped him. Before Ben could react, something pricked his neck with a sharp pain, and he too collapsed.

Not long after, he awakened to find himself staring at the inside of what appeared to be some kind of wooden home, staring at a roof made of some kind of reed, it appeared. It was a large, spacious one-room home. The smell of something cooking had awakened him, so he gingerly sat up on his elbows, looking around.

A young girl, about the age of 14, was sitting in the corner; roasting something on the small fire in the center of the house, smoke unfurling out the small hole in the roof. She was watching him curiously as he sat up.

"Can you tell me where I am?" He asked her carefully. She instantly got up and ran out the door, shouting something he couldn't hear or understand. Something in a different language.

Just what place was this? And where had they taken Abigail? And Riley?

The girl returned not two seconds later, pulling a large, rather burly man in tow. He looked down at Ben for a moment, before sitting down across from him, gesturing for the girl to leave, which she did.

"Um, hello?" Ben tried. The man simply looked at him.

"Atl." The man suddenly spoke, and pushed a bowl of water toward him. Ben stared at it for a moment, not understanding. The man made drinking motions with his hands, and Ben realized it was for him to drink. Hopefully they hadn't put anything in it to knock him out again. He took a small drink, and the man smiled, nodding.

"Do you speak English?" Ben asked. The man looked at him. Apparently not. _This could be harder than I thought_, Ben thought to himself, shaking his head.

"Have you," He pointed to the man. "Seen," To his eyes. "My wife?" To his wedding ring. The man looked at the ring, and leaned his head to one side.

Then suddenly, the man pulled Ben to his feet, dragging him out the door. Log houses lined the dirt street that they were now running down, some people peering out their houses at Ben. All were equally dark skinned and dark haired.

A shadow was cast over Ben, and he looked up. A great, gray stone pyramid rose up above him. _An Aztec pyramid?_ He asked himself, having recognized it almost instantly. They were heading for it, but turned down another street just before they did reach it.

They stopped in the middle of the street, and the man pulling Ben along let out a call. A young woman stepped out from the nearest house, nodding furiously, and called back to someone in the house.

"No! Let go of me! Don't touch me!" Ben's stomach flip-flopped when he heard Abigail shouting. She was dragged from the house, struggling violently, by another man. She stopped when she saw Ben.

"Ben! These people are mad!"

"Abigail, do you have any idea where we are?" He asked weakly, as they were forced to walk side-by-side, being led down the street.

"Well, judging by that pyramid there, and the style of these houses, I would have to guess in some Aztecan city in South American, that's been recreated."

"If it was recreated, then why are we being held as prisoners?"

Abigail shrugged. "Want me to ask?"

"What? You speak this freak language they're muttering on in?" Ben asked.

"Your mother taught me a bit, and I recognize it." Abigail said. She looked to the man who had a hold of her upper arm, pulling her along.

_"Quis est is locus?"_

_"Tenochtitlan."_

Abigail paled. Ben frowned.

"What? Did he say where we were?"

"Ben, does Tenochtitlan mean anything to you?" She asked quietly.

"Wasn't it an ancient Aztec civilization a long time ago?" Ben asked, and Abigail nodded. "Abigail, don't even say it. Its not possible. This is just probably some elaborate hoax. Or we're dreaming. Don't you remember crashing?"

"Yes. But why would we be having the same dream?" She asked.

Ben was saved from replying as they approached the largest of the houses, where two of the dark skinned men guarded the entrance. Ben and Abigail were shoved forward through the door, falling to the ground in front of a fire pit. On the other side, the largest man that Ben had seen so far sat, surrounded by several young women holding bowls of fruit and meat. The man watched them carefully.

_"Quare erant vos in jungle?"_ The man said. Ben looked at Abigail.

"He wants to know why we were in the jungle." She said.

"Tell him we got lost."

_"Peregrinus a nostrum castra."_ Abigail said, and the guy's attention turned to her, instead of Ben.

_"Es vos secui of niveus vir adeo rapio nostrum aurum?"_

Abigail shook her head.

Ben glanced between the two, not understanding a word. Thankfully, Abigail turned to him and explained that he has asked if they were there to take his gold. The man was watching them again, picking up a small fruit and popping it in his mouth.

"He's the head of the city." Abigail said after a moment. "Leader of the Aztec empire. Ben, I don't think this is any renactment. We're back in time."

"Abigail, don't be stupid, that's not possible." Ben hissed. "Ask him if he knows a way we can get back to the States." He told her. Abigail sighed, looking at the ground for a moment before speaking.

_"Meus maritus volo scio si vos teneo a via nos can ulciscor domus."_ She said, and the leader laughed.

_"Maritus?"_

Abigail again nodded. The man looked between them.

_"Hic in Moctezuma's urbs , tantum ego constituo ut quod qua vos licentia ut."_

Abigail looked pale again.

"He says that only he decides when and where we leave." She whispered to Ben. "And his name is Moctezuma."

"That means its about 1521, right?" Ben asked, and Abigail nodded.

"He wants to know our names."

"Tell him. And tell him we want to leave now."

_"Ego sum Abigail, quod is est Ben. Nos volo dimitto iam."_

_"Exspectata ut meus urbs tunc."_

"He said welcome to the city." Abigail muttered, folding her arms across her chest.

"Is he letting us leave?"

"I don't think so. Not right now at least." She murmured. _"Did vos reperio alius vir in jungle?"_

_"Etiam."_ He nodded, gesturing to someone behind Ben and Abigail. There was a scuffle from outside, and Riley was tossed through the door, landing on the ground next to Ben.

"Where have you been Riley?!" Ben asked. Riley had a large bruise forming on his face, and a small cut on his forehead.

"Being held captive. How about you? Having a nice little conversation with chief man over here?"

"Well, Abigail is." Ben said, looking at her pointedly. She shrugged.

"You speak their language."

"Ben's mom taught me." She said dryly. Riley's lips twitched.

"Anyone figured out where we are?"

"Abigail seems to think that we're in the year 1521, in Tenochtitlan."

"The Aztec capital?"

"Yeah. I say we're dreaming."

"Why would we all be having the same dream?" Riley questioned. Again, Ben was saved from answering as the leader spoke again, looking directly at Abigail. He gestured for her to come closer. Hesitating, she slowly circled the fire, kneeling in front of him as the other young woman backed away. He fingered her blonde hair, playing with a curl of it. A beast of rage flew up into Ben's chest, but he kept quiet.

_"Is est talis a dedecus pro talis decor futurus attero."_ He said to Abigail, ignoring Ben and Riley.

_"Quis operor vos vilis?"_

_"I sum sumo vos ut plenus luna vitualamen. Vos should exsisto veneratio, Abigail."_ He said, and Abigail bowed her head for a moment. When she looked back up, Ben could see tear tracks glittering down her face, reflecting in the firelight.

"What is it Abigail?" Riley whispered. She looked at the two of them across the fire.

"I've been chosen as the next sacrifice."

**XXX**

_Cliffhanger! Dun dun dun! Reviews are love!_


	4. Aztec Antics II

_Holy. Crap. I completely forgot this story existed, and seeing the reviews for it, I was suddenly at an urge to continue it! I am so sorry for the delay, and I'll try not to make you all wait so long this time! Please continue to send your lovely reviews!_

_Also, be aware, what happens from here on out may not be completely historically accurate. I've done what I can to make it as similar as possible. I apologize if you do not like this._

_And for this story, act as though Cortez has already been to the city once, and now will be coming back with his stronger army. _

**. . .**

"So, they're going to chain her to the top of that?"

Ben glanced sideways at Riley, who was staring up at the pyramid they sat in front of. A large bonfire roared in a fire pit before them, a large unidentifiable animal roasting on a spit being turned by two men on either side. Ben had been absorbed in the flames, trying hard to forget the fact that they were in a weird world, not even in their own time. It was ridiculous, and he didn't like it.

Not to mention his wife was going to be sacrificed.

"They'll chain her to the top of that tonight, after the feast." Ben said, his voice slightly hoarse. It'd been three days since they'd arrived, and he'd been just as angry those days as he'd been today. "And for the next seven days they'll feed her water and bread. When dawn comes at the end of those seven days, they'll rip out her heart and let her body roll down those stairs until it comes to rest right where you're sitting."

"You've thought a lot about this haven't you?"

"Yes."

Riley fell silent beside him, shifting uncomfortably on the ground as he tugged at the clothes they still wore. They still wore their clothes from the day they'd arrived, and had washed them in the creek only earlier that day. Ben and Riley weren't prisoners of the Aztecs - merely forced to stay because they had nowhere else to go. They were surrounded by jungles that were probably full of natives less friendly than the people here, not to mention the Spanish conqueror Cortez was supposed to arrive sometime during this year, if Ben had his history right.

He usually did.

"Let go of me!"

His head snapped up at the sound of Abigail's protesting voice. He hadn't seen her the past three days. Now, however, she was being dragged toward the group circling the bonfire. Ben's rage grew when he realized several of the men staring at her pale, exposed skin - she'd been put into some sort of outfit that barely covered any part of her body. He paled when what he thought to be blood had been smeared across her face, until he realized someone had taken some sort of red paint and drawn two lines down her left cheek. She was struggling against the men holding her in place, kicking and thrashing. Ben had to refuse the urge to leap forward - if he did, the spears of the others would be at his throat in seconds.

"Abigail." He managed to get out and she stopped, staring at Ben across the roaring fire. Her gaze met his for a long moment, and even at the distance they were from each other, he could see the fear reflecting in her eyes.

"We've got to figure out a way to rescue her and figure out a way back home." Riley muttered.

"Really? I'd never have guessed." Ben snapped and Riley frowned. Ben sighed, raking a hand over his tired face. "Sorry. As you can tell I'm not in the best of moods."

"I noticed. But she's going to be fine until we can figure out a way out of here. We've got a whole week."

"We can't just whip out a GPS and find our way to an airport and fly home. We've gone back in time. _How,_ I'm not sure. But its weird and I just want to take my wife and go home." Ben sighed heavily, burying his face in his hands as they forced Abigail to sit down next to the leader, who was being offered food from several beautiful women. It was almost like watching some poorly filmed Hollywood history movie. Riley shook his head from beside Ben and stared at the ground.

"Maybe if we jump from a cliff or something? We were in a car wreck before we got here so the shock obviously brought us here. I bet if we hit the ground hard enough from jumping off a cliff, it might work." Riley suggested after a long moment.

"Find a cliff." Ben muttered. "We've still got to figure out a way to get Abigail rescued."

"That's the easy part."

Across the fire, Abigail could have killed.

She refused any food she was given, blocking out the sound of their insistent voices that she eat. Like hell. She was too angry to even be hungry, her mind trying to wrap around the few ideas she had for escape. She couldn't run into the jungle - they'd capture her before she even made it out of the city. Not to mention the city they were currently in sat on a bunch of raised islands in the middle of a lake, with three narrow roads going out of it.

Abigail was running out of options.

Hands suddenly latched around her upper arms and she screamed as she was jerked up, her frantic gaze meeting Ben's from across the fire. She was being dragged toward the pyramid steps, her bare feet meeting stone as she was forced up them, toward the top and the sacrificial block to which she would be chained. Her throat was hoarse from the amount of screaming and crying she'd done the past few days, so she could only silently cry for help as crud metal chains were latched onto her wrists, chaining her to the large stone tablet. The two that had carried her up now began the journey back down, leaving Abigail alone.

**. . .**

Ben had never been good at sports, and neither had Riley.

So he couldn't understand why he was currently standing on a large field with one wooden goal hoop at one end – sideways, none the less – with many other Aztecs on the field with them. Ben had known their odd love for sports, but he never really expected to be apart of it.

"Ben, I haven't played basketball in years." Riley muttered weakly from beside him.

"It's not really basketball." Ben replied as they began to separate into teams. "It's much more violent and bloody."

"Oh, perfect." He grumbled.

Ben and Riley were separated onto different teams, and a heavy ball was thrown into Ben's chest, hard, knocking the breath out of him. His thoughts were still too focused on Abigail for him to really care about the game. At least, until seven other Aztecs came flying into him.

They slammed him into the wall, one of the other team players grabbing the ball and tossing it through the hoop. Ben rubbed his shoulder where it'd hit the stone. This was going to be a rough game.

He tried not to get too involved – whenever the ball was thrown to him, he threw it to another person, not caring which team it happened to be. He could see Riley doing the same across the other side of the court. More Aztecs standing around the edges cheered them on, but Ben was in no mood or shape to even put any heart into the game. Let them shatter teeth and knock each other's brains out – Ben wasn't that type.

"So I think – _ow_ – that I have – _ow_ – a plan to help Abigail, and maybe – _ow _– get us out of here." Riley said quietly as they made their escape heading for an area of the lake where they could have privacy to speak and let their muscles relax after such a weird and intense game. Riley collapsed on the bank, Ben easing down beside him, wincing with each movement.

"Tell me this plan." Ben said, watching his friend splash water across his face. God forbid either of them had to play that horrible sport again – Ben was sure his limbs would fall off, and Riley would pass our or something.

"We might be able to create a big enough distraction long enough for us to free her and get out of here."

"Where do we go? Into the jungle to be eaten by something?"

Riley frowned. "I'm still working on that part." He muttered.

There was a long pause as Ben stared across the lake, still upset about the entire matter. He stretched out along the bank, shifting so he was laying on his back, staring at the sky. Riley leaned back on his hands, the two sitting, merely thinking.

"Well, at least there's one good thing about being stuck here." Ben said after a long moment.

"What's that?" Riley asked.

"Aztec treasure."

At the mention of treasure, Riley nearly face-palmed himself. Of course Ben would think about treasure when they were in a middle of a crisis. Apparently it was in his DNA.

"It's a myth, Ben." He replied flatly.

"Well, now we have the chance to find out if its real or not. After all, maybe we can find it before Cortez does."

"If he ever gets here."

"Don't worry. He will." Ben assured. The sun was beginning to fade, and in the darkening sky he could see a long pillar of smoke rising from the jungle across the lake. He frowned. "Look." He pointed it out to Riley, who followed his gaze.

"Well, it looks like weren't not waiting long for our Spanish friend."

Two natives came toward them, suddenly jerking them up and shoving them in the direction of the smoke.

"I think they want us to go and find out what it is."

"Just great." Ben muttered, rolling his eyes. Glancing around at the faces, he trudged off into the jungle, knowing he had no choice about it. Riley trotted along behind, trying to avoid the branches Ben moved aside and keep them from whacking him in the face.

The smell of burning wood was the first sign that Ben recognized that signaled they were close. The second sign was that of voices, men's voices, yelling in what Ben was almost sure was Spanish. He exchanged a knowing glance with Riley, whose eyes reflected something along the lines of curiosity mixed with a bit of fear. Ben was sure the same feeling was reflected in his eyes.

"Pare a la derecha allí!"

Ben's head snapped up to see a two men dressed in what seemed to be old-fashioned Spanish armor, pointing muskets at him and Riley. Riley instantly placed his hands in the air defensively, and Ben looked right and left. Spanish armored men were emerging all around them, all pointing guns at them. One of them leaned over and spoke to another in Spanish, muttering something.

"Qué le tienen conseguido allí?" A man – surprisingly the only one not dressed in the armor – stepped forward, arms folded across his chest. Dark hair fell to his shoulders, and he looked positively mean. He studied Ben and Riley for a moment.

"No son obviamente naturales. Pero qué encantos yo son su ropa." He muttered, and then stared at Ben. "Usted habla español?" When neither he nor Riley replied, the man spoke again, this time in English, but with a rough accent so the two barely understood him. "How about English then?"

"Yes. We speak English." Riley muttered.

"What are your names?"

"I'm Ben, this is Riley." Ben said, and slowly lowered his arms, gesturing toward Riley, who nodded.

"Why are you in this jungle?"

"We got, uh, lost?" Riley offered and Ben rolled his eyes. Now they were probably going to be shot.

"How did you get here? Are you with the natives?"

"No." The two chorused. The man looked at them suspiciously.

"Do not lie to me. I'm not one to be lied to. Now you will tell me the truth. Are you here with the natives?"

"Look, they had us as hostages, and have his wife planned as a sacrifice to use in about two weeks at the full moon." Riley said quickly. The man frowned.

"You may then have some purpose to me." He mused, and turned back toward the jungle, gesturing for several of the armored men to lead Ben and Riley after him. Together, they trudged through the jungle for a few moments before emerging out into a clearing, where apparently the Spaniards had set up camp. Ben and Riley were shoved down harshly onto logs that were set around a fire, Cortez sitting opposite of them, armed men on either side of him.

"You are going to help me. Tell me – do the Aztecs have any gold?"

"Gold?"

"Like this? You know, money?" Cortez said and from his pocket, withdrew several gold coins that flickered in the firelight.

"From what I've seen, they don't have anything like that." Ben muttered, looking up from the coin to the man's face. "So you should probably just leave."

"I can't leave without my gold. Its what I came here for and the Spanish King would be quite disappointed in me if I don't bring anything back, you see." He said.

"Or you could just let us go." Riley offered. Cortez looked at him, actually pondering it for a moment. Ben ran a hand through his messy hair, briefly tugging on the end of his shirt, which was now covered in dirt.

"I'll tell you what. I'll release you two, and you'll go back to that Aztec city. You'll look for any signs of that gold, and every other day, you'll report back to me here and tell me what you find. In exchange, I won't kill you where you stand."


End file.
